Culinary fire causes Fortuna High evacuation

Students at Fortuna High School were evacuated Tuesday afternoon, and all of 12th Street was closed due to a small fire in the culinary arts classroom, officials said. No one was injured.

"It sounds like there was some sort of grease fire in one of the ovens," Fortuna Police Department Sgt. Charles Ellebrecht said. "There was minimal damage, just to the immediate stove area and oven area."

The blaze was extinguished by teacher Stacy Chatfield, but Fortuna Volunteer Fire personnel responded to clean up the scene. Fire Chief Lon Winburn said the fire was out before they arrived.

"Stacy did a great job putting out the fire with the help of one of the students and they got everyone out of the building," Winburn said. "It was a single engine response, and we got there and helped get the minimal smoke out of the building."

Once the area was deemed safe, students were released to go home because it was the end of the school day, and 12th Street was reopened, Ellebrecht said.